Improvement in door-springs



y/ o. r.' cuMFoT.

Door-Spring.

No. 167,989, i Patented-sept.21,|s75.

e i D i C y 5f 'Q zi/:J *ze N A ATTORNEYS.

JLPETEIS, PNDTD-YUTHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D C.

wlTNEssEs Z. f l VEN 0R Nrrnn STA'rns ORItIN F. COMFORT, OF EVANSYILLE, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN DOOR-SPRINGS.

Specication forming part of 4Letters Patent No. 167,989, dated September 2l, 1875; application filed July 3, W75.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, ORRIN F. COMFORT, of Evansville, in the county of Rock and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Door-Springs; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making' a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a plan view of my door-spring', and Fig. 2 is a modication thereof. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view.

This invention relates to improvements in torsion door-springs, which are designed to cause a-door to be automatically closed after being opened; and the nature of the invention consists in combining, with ai torsion spring mounted in suit-able bearings, a notched ad- Ijusting-plate arranged upon the doorjamb near its lower part, whereby the strength of the spring may be increased or diminished, as the necessities of the case may require. It also consists in combining, with a torsion-spring, the upper end of which extends from the jamb over the top rail of the casing, thence downward beyond the upper edge of the door, a horizontally-vibratin g lever having its fulcrum on the said top rail, and a spurred catch upon the upper edge of the door with which the torsion spring engages, whereby the door, when opened at an angle of ninety degrees or less, will be automatically closed, and when opened beyond thearc of ninety degrees will .be held open, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. A p

In the annexed drawings, A designates the jarnb of a door-casing;A B, the top rail, andv O the door closing the opening, and hinged to the jamb. D represents my improved torsionspring, which is .of the usual length, and has its bearings in flat metallic loops a a', secured, respectively, on the top rail and jamb of the casing. The upper end of spring D has an extension, b, at right angles to its length, on the end of which is formed a rectangular hook, c, and the lower end of the said spring has a similar extension, b', ofless length and in an opposite direction from extension b, and having a similar hook, c', upon its end, as shown in Fig. l. The upper hooked extension b engages With a catch, O, rigidly secured uponl a notched plate, E, ot .the general form of a 5 hook, which is rigidly secured to the doorjamb in a horizontal position. The outer edgar ot' plate E is of segmental form, and is provided with two or more spaced notches, M', while its inner edge, which is also segmental, but concaved, has notches j, also spaced. The lower hooked extension b is adapted to engage with one of these notches on each side ot' plate E, and is thereby locked against axial rotation, and a torsion-spring is the result. By shifting the end ot' extension b to an outer notch, il', the power of the spring may be greatly increased.

In practice the catch O will be sectional, and the nose d will be U-shaped, and, having been placed on a raised rib on the base of the catch, will be secured in place by means of a pin, c. I sometimes also dispense with the lower extension and its adjustingdevice E, in which case the lower end of the spring will be locked to the jamb by means of a plate, f, which will be clamped against the said end by means of suitable screws.

When the door is thrown open in a position at right angles or less to its position when closed, the door, when released, will be instantl y closed by the reflex action of the spring;

but if it be opened beyond the angle of ninety degrees Lipper extension b will escape from the catch, and the former will spring back into its normal position. It' the door be afterward closed, the catch and spring will be immediately lie-engaged. v

In order to utilize the force of spring D to hold the door open catch O is provided with a spur, g, extending upward between the arms of a horizontally arranged and vibrating lever, F, pivoted at h to the top rail. This lever extends under the hooked end of the extension, and it is endowed with a degree of spring by the confinement of its end in an eyebolt, la.

When the extension escapes fromthe catch when the door is widely' opened the latter will spring back against the lever F, and the spur gbeing engaged in the said lever the-door will be heldopen at any degree of inclination by the restraint imposed by the spring b.

Lever F is preferably of wire, and it extends from its pivot h to and beyond jamb A of the door-casing. It is then bent backward to its hinge, and its free end confined in an eyebolt, k, before alluded to. By this means the lever F is, as it were, slotted, and a means is provided whereby the spur of the.catch is connected therewith.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a torsion door-spring, the combination of the spring` I), having extensions b b' and hooks c c,with the plate E, having notches i, i', and j, substantially as specified.

specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my naine in the presence of two witnesses.

ORRIN FERRIS COMFORT.

Witnesses:

J. C. SHARP, E. A. BENNETT. 

